Genres: Christian/Gospel,SoundtracksSome say that the best artists are the ones that express their lives through their music. It's a formula that's definitely worked very well for Christian singer and songwriter Jeremy Camp. With several awards and numerous #1 hits under his belt, his streak of success rivals that of many mainstream pop acts.
Jeremy Camp: Gospel Loud and Clear
"Music is not my life. Christ is my life."
Some say that the best artists are the ones that express their lives through their music. It's a formula that's definitely worked very well for Christian singer and songwriter Jeremy Camp. With several awards and numerous #1 hits under his belt, his streak of success rivals that of many mainstream pop acts. And it seems that he's got even more of it to share.
Jeremy Camp: Christian to the Core
Born Jeremy Thomas Camp in Lafayette, Indiana on January 12, 1978, his father Tom was a pastor at a Calvary Chapel church in their area. It was also his father who tought young Jeremy how to play the guitar. It was when he left for bible college in Southern California, however, that he first heeded his musical calling.
As a student in SoCal, he spent his free time strumming on his guitar. A worship leader heard him play one day, and he was invited to the campus music ministry. Before long, Camp was leading worship sessions not just at his institution but all over Southern California as well. It was also while he was playing in the SoCal worship circuit that he met Melissa, whom he married in 2000.
Marital bliss, however, was not to last for long. In 2001, Melissa died after a year-long battle with ovarian cancer. Their struggle with the disease and his wife's passing inspired Camp to write songs like Walk by Faith and I Still Believe. These two songs would eventually become part of the set list for Stay, Camp's 2002 debut album with Brandon Ebel Company (BEC) Recording, a major Christian music brand.
Jeremy Camp: A Man and His Music
Stay would prove to be a massive success, giving Camp his first six #1 singles on Christian music charts. The next year also gave as much cause for personal celebration; in December of 2003, he married The Benjamin Gate ex-frontwoman Adrienne Liesching, with whom he now has two daughters.
Jeremy Camp was an award favorite in 2005. Aside from two more #1 hits with Lay Down My Pride and Take You Back, he garnered a Song of the Year Award, two Favorite Artist awards and shared honors for the compilation Music Inspired by the Chronicles of Narnia.
His follow-up albums to his debut - Restored in 2004, Beyond Measure in 2006 and Speaking Louder Than Before in 2008 - were all huge successes as well. Each one yielded #1 hits, Gold RIAA certification or, as in the case of Restored, both. His 2005 release Live Unplugged is his biggest commercial success so far with its double platinum certification from the RIAA. His latest release is Jeremy Camp Live, which came out November 2009.
Did You Know That...
...he practices what he sings? Jeremy Camp, besides being a multi-awarded singer and songwriter, is also an ordained minister.
...even with his songwriting niche, Camp uses a fusion of other genres? He cites mainstream rock acts like Pearl Jam and Matchbox 20 as inspirations.
...personal disaster struck him early? He was just 23 when he lost first wife Melissa to cancer. She was 21.